Pennsylvania may settle fight over truck parking

View full sizeDan Gleiter, The Patriot-News, 2010A judge has ruled the towing and fees associated with the warning signs posted at Silver Spring Commons in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County, are not legally enforceable. The Walmart Supercenter on Carlisle Pike is at right.Ray Earl Bishop Jr. pulled his rig into a Walmart parking lot one Sunday afternoon last fall to pick up supplies for the road.

The California trucker grabbed paper towels and lunch meat and flipped through magazines. When he got back outside, his 2010 Peterbilt tractor was gone.

“I wasn’t in the store more than 30 minutes. My truck was barely 2 months old. I was devastated,” Bishop said.

He called police to report a theft. Maybe it wasn’t stolen, police said. Maybe it was towed from a no-parking zone.

What happened next led to a legal decision that could open the floodgates for legal claims against towing companies.

The decision also focuses attention on a proposal about state standards for towing. Parking lot owners would have to rope off no-parking areas, and tow companies would have to notify owners before their vehicles are towed.

Bishop’s truck was towed. He had to pay $1,000 before T&C Towing of Yoe in southern York County would release it. Bishop said he was flabbergasted, then angry.

He called T&C seeking a partial refund but was unsuccessful. Then he filed a claim with District Judge Tom Placey.

On April 9, Placey ruled that signs restricting parking at the Silver Spring Township Walmart didn’t meet state standards for adequate public notice. He said the tow fee was unreasonable. He called the T&C invoice that Bishop had to sign to retrieve his truck “unconscionable” because it included a statement releasing T&C from any claims.

Placey ordered T&C to return the $1,000 fee.

T&C is appealing, owner Chris Marquardt said. He insisted the tow was legal but said he has since updated his no-parking signs.

“These trucks are parked illegally on private property that is posted as required under the law. They are in violation of state law by being there,” Gary Rittle, a THF asset manager, said Thursday.

Walmart doesn’t have a say in the policy, said Steve Myers, the Walmart manager.

“My hands are tied, because they are the ones who [handle] property maintenance,” he said. “We do welcome [truckers] as shoppers. The fine is ridiculous, but that’s not us controlling that.”

Jason Johnson, a trucker from Illinois who parked in the Silver Spring lot last week, said he hasn’t gotten the cold shoulder from Walmart.

He said most truckers know every Walmart on their routes and make a point to shop at them.

“Stuff’s always cheaper at Walmart than the truck stops. Most Walmarts don’t mind [truck parking] if their lots are large enough,” Johnson said.

But other truckers interviewed said there’s a perception that Walmart has a policy to cut truck parking in its store lots. Some trucking firms hang signs at their docks warning drivers to steer clear of Walmart store parking lots.

Walmart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez denied that such a policy exists.

“It’s definitely not a practice of ours to tow truckers from our parking lots. From our standpoint, we always want to provide a pleasant shopping experience for all our customers,” Lopez said.

Norita Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Owner Operators Independent Drivers Association, said a shortage of parking across the U.S. is causing problems for long-haul truckers. She said statistics aren’t kept on the number of truckers towed from parking lots or the total paid in fines.

It’s tough on truckers making short runs, too.

Eric Olson, 35, of Ephrata, makes daily runs out of Lancaster. On Tuesday, he swung his semi off Route 11 into the Silver Spring Walmart lot and left the engine running. It was the only way he could grab a quick lunch at Taco Bell.

“A lot of the Walmarts have been getting really picky. I can almost understand it. Not to bash on other truckers, but some of them are too lazy to go inside and use the restroom. There’s odors,” Olson said.

Lt. Chris McKim of the Ephrata police said the Walmart there asked for help last fall in deterring truckers after they caused property damage. The store hung state-approved no-parking signs, and police began writing traffic citations that are handled by a local judge.

“We’ve seen a decrease in the number of violations [from] multiple times a night to now about once weekly,” McKim said.

Trucks now are rarely towed, he said.

A bill before the Legislature would make towing the exception, rather than the rule, in enforcing parking restrictions. It proposes standards that would apply to towing any vehicle, not just trucks. Other states have passed such laws against what they’ve labeled predatory towing.

“A lot of these parking lots’ [managers] are working in cooperation with the towers. They’re getting away with a lot of stuff we’ve tried to address with our bill,” said state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Allegheny County, the original bill sponsor. The bill moved through the House and awaits action by the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee.

“If they don’t want anybody in the parking lots, they’d have to be roped off. They’d have to post their fees before they could tow. They’d [tow companies] have to notify the owner of the vehicle before they tow,” DeLuca said.

“I agree with that,” said Kathryn Souders of East Pennsboro Township.

Her car and 19 others were towed from Summerdale Plaza’s parking lot in East Pennsboro in 2007 on the order of the plaza owner, Willner Realty Development Corp. Drivers previously had permission to park in a commuter section there and weren’t warned of a change.

“I took it to court, and I won. Quite a few people did. It’s the principle of it,” Souders said. She was refunded the $245 tow fee and received punitive damages of about $300.

Johnson, the trucker from Illinois, was in the Silver Spring lot to nap during a federally mandated 10-hour break. Drivers must stop after 11 hours on the road. Once they drop their loads, distribution centers don’t want them hanging around, he said. If truck stops are full, drivers bunk down elsewhere.

They call it boondocking, or free camping.

And Walmart has long welcomed travelers who park their recreational vehicles for the night in store lots.

“My family is a camping family, and I know that is [Walmart’s] creed,” said Sgt. Scott Laird of the Springettsbury Township police in York County.

So he was surprised when trucks parked in the East York Walmart began to be towed last year.

“They’re parked where no one’s really around them. What are these guys supposed to do if they’re actually a patron?” Laird said.

Johnson said, “I guarantee you, if I track someone down that’s towed my truck, I’m not going to be happy.”

Marquardt said he’s encountered his share of unhappy truckers.

“One guy pointed a gun right to my head and said, ‘You are not going to tow my truck,’¤” he said.

He’d welcome a state law that set guidelines, even limits on fees, because it would give his actions more authority.

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